Parashat Tetzaveh (You Shall Command)
Shemot (Exodus) 27:20-30:10
Haftarah: Ezekiel 43:10-27

And you shall command the sons of Israel that they bring you clear oil of crushed olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD; it shall be a permanent statute throughout their generations for the sons of Israel.
Exodus 27:20-21

The term “crushed olives” holds special significance that is important for us to understand. An olive in itself is good for nothing — it's hard, bitter, and will give you a stomach ache if you eat it raw. But when you crush the olive in the olive press, you get pure olive oil!

Yeshua set an example for us in surrendering our will to the Father’s will. It is significant that Yeshua chose a place called Gat Shemanim (Gethsemane), which means “Olive Press”, to be the place where He chose to crush His will in submission to the Father’s. (Matthew 26:36–46) In other words, He demonstrated how to “crush” our will in submission to the Father’s will.

Another important use of olive oil is to anoint someone; in fact, this is where the Hebrew word, Moshiach (“Messiah” — Anointed One) is derived from. It was only after Yeshua chose to crush His will, i.e, die to Himself at that moment, that He started the new phase of His role as the anointed one, the Messiah.

In order to receive the anointing to do the Father’s will, one needs to take the example of our Messiah and to crush our own personal will. I believe that it is only when you truly crush your own will to that of the Father, that you can walk with His anointing in your life.

As we can see from Exodus 27:20-21, the purpose of the oil from the crushed olives was to make the lamp burn continually in the Tent of the Meeting. In reality, Yeshua is the light of the world, whose light never grows dim. He is the Eternal Flame, whose light burns continually with no end.

The Hebrew words for “lamp burn continually” are “נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד” (Ner Tamid). I found a very interesting commentary on this phrase that suggests in the days of the Tabernacle, the “eternal lamp” was the middle candle of the menorah that was always lit until twilight, the time between sundown and when the stars become visible. All the other lamps were extinguished at dawn once the sun began to rise, and relit from the “Ner Tamid” once twilight fell. As far as we understand, the “Ner Tamid” was rekindled at twilight.

It is interesting to note that “twilight” is the time when Yeshua laid down His life for us. This is not by coincidence. He fulfilled His role at that time as the Messiah — the perfect sacrificial Lamb — and charged us to be the “light” in the world.

In order to be His light in this world, we need to crush our will in submission to the Father’s will, just like Yeshua did. It is only then that we can walk in the fullness of His anointing over our lives. Just like the children of Israel were charged to make God known throughout the world, so are we! We are to crush our will daily and walk in His anointing as He shines His light in and through our lives.

It is important for me to end with a reminder: it is not our words alone that will bring light into this world but rather our actions. Yeshua admonished us when he said,

Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

We are shining the Father’s light!

Shabbat Shalom,
Moran